CA Inter Study Plan for January 2027: A 10-Week Plan to the Exam

A CA Inter study plan for January 2027 has about ten weeks to work with. Group I is written on 2, 4 and 6 January 2027 and Group II on 8, 10 and 12 January, every paper from 2 pm to 5 pm. Counting from 24 October, that leaves 70 days before the first paper, and the plan below splits them into four blocks: first revision, mock tests, full papers and the last fortnight.

Ten weeks is enough for two full revisions and about a dozen timed papers. It is not enough for a first reading of a paper you have not started, so decide this week what you will write.

TL;DR

• Exams: Group I on 2, 4 and 6 January 2027; Group II on 8, 10 and 12 January 2027.
• Exam form: 3 to 16 November 2026 on eservices.icai.org (late fee up to 19 November).
• Weeks 1 to 4: first full revision. Weeks 5 to 8: ICAI MTPs and full papers. Last 14 days: second revision.
• Both groups at 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, gives about 80 hours per paper.
• Paper 3 for January 2027 is still on the Income-tax Act, 1961.

How much time is left before CA Inter January 2027?

ICAI's notice gives the dates by group, and our CA Inter January 2027 dates post sets them out in full. Here is the arithmetic I would do before writing a timetable.

A worked hour budget

From Saturday 24 October to Friday 1 January is 70 days, or 10 weeks. Take one day off each week and you have 60 study days. At 8 hours a day that is 480 hours.

• Both groups, six papers: 480 hours gives 80 hours a paper, including tests.
• One group, three papers: the same 480 hours gives 160 hours a paper, or you can study fewer hours a day.

Eighty hours is enough to revise a paper twice and write three or four full papers in it. It is not enough to learn a paper from the start. If one paper is still unread, a single group may be the honest choice for this attempt.

Ten weeks and about 480 study hours: roughly 80 per paper for both groups, 160 for one.

What should weeks 1 to 4 cover?

From 24 October to 20 November, finish one full revision of every paper you will write. Plan about four study days per paper for both groups, and rotate a practical paper with a theory paper so your days do not all feel the same.

1. Revise from your own notes or the ICAI study material, not a new book.
2. At the end of each chapter, write two past questions by hand without looking at the solution.
3. Mark the chapters you could not answer. They become your list for week 9.
4. Fill the exam form between 3 and 16 November on the Self Service Portal. The late window, with Rs 600 extra, closes on 19 November.

Use our chapter-wise weightage post to decide the order. It shows which chapters carried the most marks in recent papers, based on our own count.

By 20 November every paper should have had one complete revision and the exam form should be filed.

How do you use ICAI's MTPs and RTPs in weeks 5 to 8?

ICAI's Board of Studies usually runs two series of Mock Test Papers before an Inter attempt. For January 2026, Series I began on 18 November and Series II on 6 December. Check the Board of Studies announcements page for this attempt's dates, because the papers also go up there for students who cannot attend.

From 21 November to 18 December, write at least two full papers per paper, all in the 2 pm to 5 pm slot. Mark each one honestly against the suggested answer, then spend the next day on the questions you lost marks in. Our post on how to use ICAI's RTP, MTP and suggested answers explains how to read them as a checker would.

Read the RTP for January 2027 when ICAI releases it. It carries the amendments and the questions on recent changes.

Weeks 5 to 8 are for timed papers: two per subject at the very least, each one corrected the next day.

What goes into the last 14 days?

From 19 December to 1 January, do your second full revision in the order of your exam. Group I students start with the papers they will write on 2 and 4 January.

• Days 1 to 10: short notes, the chapter list from week 4, and one more timed paper per subject.
• Days 11 to 14: only your notes and formulas. No new questions.

Between two papers you have one free day. Keep that day for the next paper alone, and do not use it to catch up on a paper already written.

The last fortnight is notes, one timed paper per subject and sleep, in exam order.

How does the plan change for one group?

The four blocks stay the same. You get about twice the hours per paper, so add a second full revision in weeks 1 to 4 and write three or four timed papers per subject in weeks 5 to 8. A one-group student has more room, and the risk is spending it on reading instead of writing papers.

One group means more papers written, not more chapters read.

Which tax law applies to Paper 3 in January 2027?

The Income-tax Act, 1961. ICAI's Board of Studies announced that the Income-tax Act, 2025 will be tested from the May 2027 exams onwards. A student who clears Taxation in January does not need to learn the new Act for Inter. A student who has to write it again in May will.

If you want your timed papers in weeks 5 to 8 checked, Gradehunt's CA Inter test series covers January 2027. You write by hand and upload, and an ex-examiner returns each paper within 48 hours with step-wise marks and comments. The first paper is checked free.